Disciple: Bishop Anne Goes to Rome

By The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple

It may not be on par with the parting of the Red Sea, but in my mind it was a miracle, or a series of miracles, that combined to place me atop the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, facing out into St. Peter’s Square and almost literally to Pope Francis’s right hand on Wednesday, October 7. From the lofty and also humbling moment of being introduced to the Pope to the humbling and also exhilarating work at a shelter for refugees in the basement of St. Paul’s in the Walls, Rome, my pilgrimage to Rome with eight other bishops suffragan was thrilling.

I will be writing further about this experience in our next edition of the Disciple. For now, I thought you might enjoy some
of the images from the Eternal City.

We stayed at the monastery at San Gregorio Magno al Celio. This is the site of the first Holy See and where Gregory the Great commissioned St. Augustine to take the Gospel to the people of the British Isles. It was quite a moment to stand at the very cathedra where Augustine knelt to receive his charge. I can’t help but wonder if the heavens cheered when male and female bishops from the U.S. came full circle to offer their own prayers of thanksgiving for the brave missionary spirit that drove our ancestor into such strange and dangerous territories.

We seemed surrounded by great works of art no matter where we went, including the arts of architecture, sculpture, frescos, food, and landscaping.

Browse the pages below for photos from Bishop Hodges-Copple's trip.